Will of a Prince

Jacob was slumped over his desk listening to the teacher talk for hours. She had been talking about stuff they had already known. Eventually, he got tired of listening and raised his hand weakly.

"Yes, Jacob?"

"Can we learn something new already? I think I’m about to fall asleep if we continue any longer."

"Well, you are in luck. I am just about finished with the short review."

’Short?’

Jenna walked over to the board and erased everything she had written before.

"Okay. Maybe I should start with the history of everything."

Maria sighed heavily.

"Everything?! Didn’t we just cover everything?!"

"Oh, hardly my dear student. Now I’m sure you all know that the name of these supernatural powers that exist come from a man named Zalo, correct?"

They all nodded their heads sheepishly, even though most of them had no idea what she was talking about.

"Well, this man Zalo was something akin to a god who lived among us mortals. They say he was the true origin of every power that spreads across the three continents of this world. However, there was one thing that Zalo didn’t have that he desperately desired. Now I ask you, what do you think a man who is capable of everything possibly be missing from his life?"

No one responded, but they all seemed a bit more intrigued in the subject.

"Well, I’ll tell you. He desired purpose. He supposedly never had an equal, never faced any challenges. Everything his entire life was given to him. It eventually got to the point that he had done every single thing he had thought of, except for one: giving something back to the world that created him. He used his divine power to split parts of his soul across six lucky mortals. However, in order to ensure a balance and harmony within this world, he made their powers oppose each other directly. Little did he know, giving away his power would prove to be a fatal mistake."

Jacob leaned forward in his chair.

"One of the Profane Trio held the authority over death itself. All six of them used this to betray their giver and fight him in the middle of these great lands. The battle was so extraordinarily massive that it split the land into three separate continents."

Jacob raised his hand eagerly. Jenna smiled seeing that someone was finally willing to participate and swiftly called on him.

"Are you trying to tell us that the Sacred and Profane Trio worked together? Why would they help each other?"

"That is a question that no one seems to have an answer to, except for the trios themselves."

"So, how old are these trios exactly? Are you saying they’ve been here since the creation of these continents?"

"Indeed. Unless they have some way to pass down their powers to a devote, we can only assume the originals are as ancient as you could expect. Now, there is something else I must share with you all. It has to do with what happened with the body of Zalo. I’m sure most of you may be wondering how a being so large could vanish without a trace. Well, I am here to tell you that the body parts of Zalo are still alive and well."

Jacob’s heart dropped.

"They are all scattered across the three continents of this world. No one knows where they are and no one knows what they look like to my understanding. The knowledge of their existence is actually a myth. However, I am more inclined to believe it is true for one reason: the existence of the creatures in this world."

The entire room was silent. Everyone was now giving Jenna their full attention. Jenna smirked after she noticed this.

"Even though this is all conjecture, I am inclined to believe these creatures were spawned from the decay of Zalo’s corpse. It would explain why there are monsters on every continent and not just one or two of them. There are also areas in this world where these monsters are much more prevalent compared to others. Not only this, but there have been reports of strange behaviors found in these creatures when they thrive in certain areas. These areas, I like to believe, are where part of Zalo’s body lay."

Jacob raised his hand again.

"Yes, Jacob."

"What would happen if Zalo were somehow revived? With all these random powers, it doesn’t seem that crazy to say it’s impossible. Would that mean the monsters would disappear?"

Jenna paled sightly being asked this. She rubbed her hands together slowly before answering.

"I don’t believe such a thing to be possible."

"Why not?"

"When Zalo died, there were rumors about what happened to his body. They said it looked as if the more it decayed, the more corrupted it seemed to get. A divine being succumbing to corruption on its death bed... such a thought is why I believe the creatures came from him. And because of that, I believe revival of Zalo’s original state would be impossible. There has also never been a power in the history of our world that brings someone back from the dead. Even people like gods must adhere to the universal law of mortality."

"But if Zalo was someone who was god-like, wouldn’t that mean he was supposed to be immortal? In other words, he was already defying mortality by being immortal, so who is to say that a power bringing him back is impossible?"

"It’s because avoiding death and returning from death are completely different. If someone is immortal, they are simply stuck in a physical state of being. Their soul and body are sown together like clothes on a puppet, except the strings tying them together are unbreakable. For normal people, those strings attaching us to a physical plain weaken as we get older, and eventually our soul and body separate into two unique things. When a soul leaves a body, there is no way to weave them back together. Even if someone were to somehow create a unique attachment between the soul and body, the person who comes back will not be the same."

"Why?"

"Because the string itself is unique to every individual. There is no possible way to copy it perfectly and reattach the two parts. In other words, it may be possible to create a much weaker string, but the thing that comes back will not be the same person that died."

Jacob’s head started to throb taking in all the interesting information. It was all strange, but it must have been true. Otherwise, there may have been a revival of the fallen god by now. Jenna started writing six names on the clip board in big letters. As she wrote the first three, Jacob’s mark under his armor started to burn. Suddenly, Jacob realized something that didn’t make a lot of sense to him.

’Why do they not care that we are all wearing a suit of armor? Is that a normal thing to do in this kingdom? And all this information is mostly conjecture. Why does she even bother to share her theories with us?’

A small bud of doubt and suspicion sprouted in Jacob’s mind, but he pushed it down to take in more information. Right as she finished writing the six names on the board, she turned around to address the class once more.

"Sorry, everyone. This will be the last thing we talk about today. I promise."

Harold raised a hand. Panic was rising in his face.

"Yes, Harold?"

"Can I use the restroom? I can’t hold it anymore!"

Jenna slapped herself in the forehead.

"Just be quick. You don’t have to ask to use the restroom by the way..."

With that, Harold darted out of the classroom to the left. Jenna yelled back out to him.

"It’s to the right!"

Harold ran past the door once more to the right. Jenna sighed and fixed her dark black hair.

"Now then, let’s talk about the Profane and Sacred Trio."